West Mastin Lake Elementary to take new name on Sunday

The name of West Mastin Lake Elementary, pictured, has been removed from the sign in front of the school to make way for the school's new name, James I. Dawson Elementary School. The school on Sunday will officially be renamed for the late Dawson, a longtime educator who sat on the school board for nearly 20 years. (The Huntsville Times)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The sign outside West Mastin Lake Elementary read only "Elementary School" on Tuesday as the Huntsville school district prepared for the school's official renaming.

The north Huntsville school will on Sunday officially become James I. Dawson Elementary School in honor of the late longtime school board member. Dawson died in December 2009 after a long career as an educator, which included almost 20 years representing District 1 on the board.

A renaming ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday at the school, located at 5308 Mastin Lake Road. The ceremony, which will be held in the school's cafetorium, will be immediately followed by a reception in the library.

James Dawson (The Huntsville Times)

The school board in February approved the name change to the elementary school. Dawson, a Pike County native, was first elected to represent north Huntsville on the board in 1988.

He resigned from the board in 2008, shortly before the end of his fifth term, because of health problems.

During his career, he also worked as a high school science teacher, a vocational agriculture teacher, a research assistant and an associate dean at Alabama A&M University.